The Stylish Anti-Bombing Designs of Paris Shop Windows in World War 1

 

During the First World War, shopkeepers in Paris put strips of government-issue gummed paper on their windows to prevent flying glass from a German bombardment. Many added a touch of flair by fashioning the brown paper into shapes and patterns.

This type of gummed paper was also used in the United Kingdom in world War 2. Each house was provided with rolls of 2inch-3-inch wide gummed brown paper, commonly known as ‘scrim’.

 

 

The enemy was close. In the summer of 1914, the German Army advanced to city’s eastern outskirts. The First Battle of the Marne kept them at bay, but the French capital was in reach of airplanes and zeppelins. In March 1918, the German Army deployed the gargantuan Paris Gun, capable of firing 234-pound shells into Paris.